New Fightin’ Hokies Orange Wheat beer gives brewing tradition a Hokie twist

Orange you happy the newest Virginia Tech beer is here?

Fightin’ Hokies Orange Wheat — the latest Hokie-crafted and locally drafted brew to come out of Virginia Tech and Hardywood Park Craft Brewery’s ongoing partnership — is rolling out now to grocery stores, bottle shops, and restaurants across the commonwealth in 16-ounce cans.

Following the runaway popularity of last year’s Fightin’ Hokies Hefeweizen, Orange Wheat marries tradition and innovation by taking the classic Bavarian hefeweizen and adding a citrus Hokie twist. Infused orange peel gives the beer its hallmark Virginia Tech orange glow and adds a vibrant zest that perfectly complements the famously complex and full-bodied German wheat beer, which is known for its bright, malt-forward sweetness, notes of clove and banana, and creamy mouthfeel. Fightin’ Hokies Orange Wheat is 5.5 percent ABV and low in bitterness at 15 IBU. 

“What’s exciting about Orange Wheat is that it takes a beer style that is a very traditional, over 500 year-old style from Germany, and puts a modern twist on it,” said Brian Wiersema ’98, one of three brewing faculty members in the Department of Food Science and Technology who works on Virginia Tech’s licensed food products. “Both the orange color and aroma are a play on Virginia Tech’s classic burnt orange color.”

Fightin’ Hokies Orange Wheat isn’t just based on German-style weisse beers. Its origin story began on a research and development trip to Bavaria that Department of Food Science and Technology faculty members Wiersema, Sean O’Keefe, Herbert Bruce, and Hardywood Brewmaster Brian Nelson ‘01 took in 2022. The team visited historic hop farms, maltsters, and several of the best breweries Germany has to offer. 

They were inspired by the generations-old Weihenstephan and Schneider Weisse breweries that perfected the art of the full-bodied wheat beer centuries ago. They decided to use Barke Pilsner malt — a prized malted barley grown in Bamberg by the world-renowned Weyermann Malting Company for the foundation of Fightin’ Hokies Orange Wheat. Right down to the German Tradition hops, this beer represents a merging of age-old German knowhow and the Virginia Tech spirit of innovation.

The focus on Germany is no coincidence. Fightin’ Hokies Orange Wheat is a refreshing nod to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Food Science and Technology’s ongoing relationship with German brewers and the Technical University of Munich. Since 2018, the department has sent a cohort of students each summer to learn beer-making at the Technical University of Munich - Weihenstephan — home of the oldest continuously operating brewery in the world — as part of its Practical and Theoretical Brewing program.

From its on-campus brewery to its study abroad options, much of the department’s internationally recognized brewing and fermentation program was informed by German tradition.

“On our trip through Bavaria, we gained a lot of valuable insights from people like the hop growers at Hopsteiner and the brewing team at Schneider Weisse, where we explored everything from traditional ingredients to the open fermentation techniques of a classic German-style wheat beer,” said Nelson. “This knowledge helped shape every aspect of Fightin’ Hokies Orange Wheat.”

As with all Virginia Tech and Hardywood collaboration beers, Fightin’ Hokies Orange Wheat won’t just benefit those actively enjoying it. A portion of proceeds from sales of the beverage return to the university to support experiential learning opportunities, scholarships, and more for food science students. Last year, senior Will Fontaine utilized a beer-funded scholarship he received to go to Weihenstephan as part of the Practical and Theoretical Brewing program. The beer recipe he developed as his final project fbecame his first commercially brewed beer when he returned to Virginia and got a job at a brewery. Fontaine is now head brewer at The Maroon Door, a brewpub just off Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus. 

“This partnership also gives us an opportunity to provide exposure for our students who might be interested in the brewing industry,” said O’Keefe. “One of the most important things we try to do as a department is give students real life experience, and real life experience in food science often involves companies like Hardywood who make beer.”

The new label design pays homage to its collaborative origins and features classic Virginia Tech iconography, including the vintage Fighting Gobbler trademark, the iconic silhouette of Torgersen Bridge, and an instantly recognizable Hokie Stone motif. On the back of the can, Burruss Hall looms below a map of Virginia that has the location of the university’s Blacksburg campus marked with a diamond. Lozenges or diamonds from the Bavarian flag are used throughout the design as a nod to the beer’s German background. Orange theming gives consumers a preview of the flavor within. The label’s front graphic bends inward, mirroring the curve of a traditional hefeweizen glass.

Fightin’ Hokies Orange Wheat is the fourth beer produced by Virginia Tech and Hardywood’s ongoing partnership. Fightin’ Hokies Lager, the university’s inaugural brew that launched in 2021, became Virginia’s best selling new craft beer in its first year on the market, according to Nielsen. Later that year, it won a silver medal in the prestigious Australian International Beer Awards — the largest annual beer competition in the world. Fightin’ Hokies Lager was succeeded by All Hail to Thee, a limited edition dry-hopped amber ale released to mark Virginia Tech’s 150th year in 2022, and Fightin’ Hokies Hefeweizen.

Beginning this year, Virginia Tech and Hardywood will adopt a new seasonal release schedule for their collaboration brews. While previous beers have all remained on the market as new ones were launched, beers will now be released seasonally and then vaulted for potential future use as special editions and at events, so fans and collectors should grab them while they can.

Virginia Tech announced a sustainable partnership with Hardywood in the fall of 2020, commending the beloved Richmond brewery’s dedication to technical quality, environmental stewardship, and “Brew with Purpose” philosophy. The partnership is only the latest example of Virginia Tech’s continued commitment to its land-grant mission of bringing world-class, faculty-led research to market to benefit both the commonwealth and its students.

Those looking to find Fightin’ Hokies Orange Wheat on store shelves near them can check Hardywood’s beer finder tool.